


Subtract

by BunniesofDoom



Series: Line of Succession [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blake Belladonna Needs a Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Ruby Rose (RWBY) Needs a Hug, Spoilers: Volume 8 (RWBY), Volume 8 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:27:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28466067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom
Summary: Blake has never seen Ruby look so lost before.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna & Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna & Weiss Schnee & Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose & Weiss Schnee
Series: Line of Succession [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2076177
Comments: 1
Kudos: 59





	Subtract

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote some sap today, so to balance it out here's some messy angst. Content warning for character death.

Blake has never seen Ruby look so lost before.

Grief changes people. Blake knows that. But still, she wasn’t expecting something like this with Ruby, who had always managed to push through in the past with a smile on her face.

Their warm, determined, chatterbox of a leader has been replaced with a stranger. These days Ruby is distant. Closed off. Cold. She’s not cruel or anything like that, just blank. Lifeless. Like she’s not really there and she’s just going through the motions, while keeping the rest of them at arm’s length.

After what happened to Yang, Blake knows that she did something similar. Pushed everyone away, isolated herself, tried to escape what happened and her feelings about it. In the end, Sun had to chase after her, convince her to open her heart again.

But Ruby’s emotional turmoil runs far deeper than Blake’s did. And although Blake tries her best, she knows that she’s no Sun. She wishes that there was someone else she could turn to for help. Like Yang. Or Ruby’s uncle. Or Jaune and Ren. Even Oscar would probably be more help in this situation than her.

Still, she and Weiss try their best to help. They both try to talk to Ruby, reassure her that it’s okay to let herself grieve, to acknowledge her feelings, to talk to them about things. When their leader politely brushes them off, they try to help by bringing her tea and gently reminding her to eat. 

Because Ruby hasn’t given up completely. She’s still their leader. She dutifully checks on Nora, starts discussions about what they should do next, and helps them fix the generator when the power goes out. When they’re out of options and frustrated and find themselves at a dead end, Ruby goes out in the courtyard and trains herself borderline-obsessively with the powers of the Winter Maiden.

Despite the obvious strain Ruby puts herself through, the practice does seem to do her some good. She comes back to them somewhat more present, if exhausted. And if Blake catches her talking to herself sometimes, which is concerning, at least the younger girl seems less dead inside.

Still, she knows that their silent support isn’t going to cut it. Sooner or later, Ruby is going to fall apart. It’s inevitable. And it would at least be better for her to have a total meltdown while they’re sheltering here at the Schnee manor than when they’re locked in a battle with Salem’s forces.

But it’s impossible to try to talk to Ruby about the pain she must be going through when Ruby won’t even acknowledge that it exists.

“What should we do?” Weiss asks Blake, her voice a low whisper. 

It’s been two days since Ruby inherited the powers of the Winter Maiden. They’re both laying in Weiss’ bed, ostensibly trying to get some sleep before whatever tomorrow will bring them.

But neither of them can sleep. “I don’t know,” Blake replies quietly. Ruby had insisted on taking watch, which theoretically means that she should be out of earshot, out patrolling the grounds. But she keeps her voice down anyway.

Weiss bites her lip. “I know that she doesn’t want to talk about it,” she sighs. “But she’s going to have to eventually.”

“I know,” Blake agrees. “But it’s like trying to talk to a brick wall.” She pauses for a moment. “Was this what it was like when you first met me?” she asks, trying for humor.

“Kind of,” Weiss quips, snorting softly. “You were pretty standoffish.”

“But you guys got through to me in the end,” Blake points out. “And we’ll get through to Ruby.” Weiss looks doubtful, but she doesn’t argue. “Now, let’s try to get some rest while we can. We won’t be any good to Ruby if we run ourselves into the ground.”

Weiss nods, rolling over so that her back is turned to Blake. Blake shuts her eyes and tries to quiet her mind enough to drift off.

She’d give anything to wake up in her dorm room back at Beacon, to have this all have been just a terrible dream. To have all of their friends be safe and happy. For Penny and Pyrrha and everyone they’ve lost to be with them still.

The next morning dawns cold and gray. Blake jerks awake to the buzzing of her scroll. Sleepily, she answers it and holds it up to her ear. “Hello?”

“Hey, Blake.” She jolts upright in surprise at the sound of her partner’s voice. Next to her, Weiss grunts in annoyance. Blake ignores her.

“Yang! We haven’t heard from you in ages! I was so worried. We all were.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. The signal down here hasn’t exactly been great, you know,” Yang says. “Look, it’s kind of a long story, but we kind of need a place to lay low for a while. Any chance you know a place we could go?”

“I think I know just the place,” Blake says with a smile, before rattling off their location to Yang.

“See you soon,” her partner says, before hanging up.

Blake nudges Weiss awake. Her friend groans dramatically before finally opening her eyes. “What?”

“Yang and the others are on their way. We’ve got backup.” And for the first time in a while, Blake allows herself to feel a spark of hope.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment and leave kudos if you liked it.


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